The Detroit Red Wings will have to pay up to keep one of their best players. It is safe to say that the recent offseason was a borderline disaster in Detroit. The club essentially forced Steve Yzerman out of the general manager role, Dylan Larkin requested a trade, and Simon Edvinsson remains without a contract. Newly implemented interim GM Shawn Horcoff now has his hands full.
While Horcoff has to address the Larkin and Edvinsson situations ASAP, he also has to sort out Alex DeBrincat’s future soon. The star forward is currently in his final season of a four-year, $31.5 million ($7.87 million AAV) contract. After leading the Red Wings in goals (41) and points (85) a year ago, the winger is set to earn a significant pay raise.
In fact, The Athletic’s Max Bultman is now projecting that DeBrincat’s next deal will reach $14 million AAV. If true, the dynamic forward would quite easily become Detroit’s highest-paid player. According to Bultman, this particular figure was determined by the recent contracts for Kirill Marchenko and Cutter Gauthier. Marchenko earned $12.5 million AAV with the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Gauthier grabbed $13.5 million AAV in Anaheim.
Although $14 million per season is a high number, the reporter still believes the Detroit Red Wings will retain the star. “The big question will be: Is it in Detroit? The Red Wings can’t afford to let another key scorer get away, let alone their most consistent forward last season,” writes Bultman. “However, by not extending DeBrincat this summer, they now enter the season with that possibility hanging over their heads. That gives DeBrincat massive leverage in negotiations.”
Detroit Red Wings Should Have Addressed Alex DeBrincat’s Future Sooner
When comparing DeBrincat to Gauthier and Marchenko, Bultman’s contract projection seems justifiable. The Detroit Red Wings star had the same number of goals as Gauthier during the 2025-26 season, but 14 more than Marchenko. DeBrincat also led the trio in assists, points, power play goals, and +/- rating, all while receiving fewer penalty minutes.
Detroit, however, has likely cost themselves extra money by waiting to deal with DeBrincat. The Gauthier and Marchenko deals were only just completed in September. Horcoff and the Detroit Red Wings potentially could have re-signed the forward to a more team-friendly extension if they had taken care of it in the summer. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman hinted at this on October 1.
“DeBrincat’s a guy who wants to be a Red Wing,” Friedman said on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast. “He was thrilled to go there… But now, you’ve already lost the ability to sign him for eight years. And the reason was they really weren’t ready to talk to him. And that is the kind of thing that I look at and say, ‘You have to protect yourself against that.'”
Detroit has the Funds to Reward the Star
Despite all of this, the Detroit Red Wings are still in a positive financial situation. According to PuckPedia.com, the club currently has nearly $17 million in projected cap space. This figure jumps to $60 million in the summer of 2027. Although Detroit still has to figure out a suitable extension for Edvinsson, the team can afford to give DeBrincat a pay raise.
The Red Wings, on the other hand, cannot afford to lose DeBrincat’s offense. The club only managed to score 239 goals a season ago (22nd-best in the NHL) and could soon lose Larkin’s contribution. Horcoff and Co. simply have to retain the 28-year-old winger.
Red Wings Star Projected to get $14 Million AAV Contract Offer